|
Outdoor Corner: What is a good hunter?
Gene Plihal
for Smoky River Express
One question every hunter needs to ask himself before he goes into the field is “Why does she/he hunt?” Red Hasey, long time Alberta Hunter Training Instructor once classified all hunters, based on a University of Wisconsin study, into five categories. See which one you presently fit into.
First there is the “shooter” stage. This is characteristically the youthful hunter who has acquired a first gun and is learning the dangers and responsibilities of firearm use. These individuals shoot lots and talk extensively about shooting and the opportunity to shoot. Targets, skeet shooting, tin can practice and outings involving firing a gun are the central focus of these people.
Closely on the heels of the “shooter” is the “Limit Out” hunter. This hunter measures success by the number of tags filled. Of course, as long as this hunter has the tags, there is nothing illegal about this approach to hunting. Not having filled four tags myself this season (three mule deer doe tags and one female elk tag), I personally feel I had a great season though I may have seen 30 harvestable does and at least that many antlerless elk!
The third stage of hunter classification is the “biggest” phase. This hunter is looking for the largest antlered or largest bodied animal out there. Often referred to as the “trophy” stage, this hunter is looking to enter his animal into the Boone and Crockett competition, or in the case of archers, the Pope and Young competition.
The fourth stage or class of hunter is the “Gadgets” phase. This type of hunter is more concerned about spending time at Cabella’s, Bass Pro Shop, or Wholesale Sports than out in the field. If this hunter could, he would probably buy a backup light and warning for his gun sort of like the ones found on street cleaning equipment. Seriously, this person will go to all lengths to purchase the most modern boots, hand warmers, tree stands or what have you. Indeed, not too many years ago I remember having a 15 year old client in camp who said that he and his dad took two days off from school and work for them to fly to Florida to do their “annual shopping for hunting season” trip!
The fifth and final stage is the “Sportsman” stage, loosely named. This hunter is out there to share the experience with someone else. They do not measure the reward of the trip necessarily by whether or not they have harvested an animal. This hunter values the outdoors and defends any attempts to degrade aspects of it. Filling his tags, though one of the reasons for being out there, is not the “raison d’être”. In short, this person is the type of hunter who is really worthy of emulation.
Unless we are subsistence hunters, we would hope that the fifth stage would be the one tho which we all aspire. Because then we are out there defending the wilderness from the “Romance of the bulldozer”, concrete jungles, and the replacement of the Mallard with Donald Duck.
Where do you fit in?
|
Here Cody shares his experience with the camera man. “Isn’t this neat?” Cody seems to proclaim from his tree stand ten feet in the air.
|
|
“Let’s see, do I have everything?” Cody Stokes, of Utah, though giving the appearance of being a “Gadgets” hunter (possessing all of the modern paraphernalia of the 21st century hunter), he is in fact a “sportsman” hunter. Though he has visited the Peace River country three times over the years (fourth time scheduled for May 2010) he has yet to harvest a single animal and says, “I have had great, extremely professionally guided hunts up here.”
|
|
This bear seems to be saying, “It’s too bad this tree is broken off or I’d come up there and visit you.” (Again a photo taken by Cody’s party).
|
< Previous
Home
Next >
|
